Delhi High Court bans strikes in government hospitals

The Delhi High Court has banned strikes in all government hospitals in the national capital, saying that they were against the interest of the public. A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sharma said that going by earlier judgements, strikes by doctors in both the central and state government hospitals in the capital were illegal. The judges said banning strikes would ensure the patients’ fundamental right to life when seeking medical care. They felt that such a judgement would stop health professionals from going on strike unmindful of the needs of poor patients using public hospitals. Advocate Sugriv Dubey had a filed a public interest litigation (PIL) asking authorities to ban strikes in hospitals. Doctors of many government hospitals had resorted to strikes and inconvenienced patients in recent times, the petition said.